Stephen King

Richard Bachman

In a futuristic America ruled by ultraconservatives, one hundred of the nation's hardiest boys must endure a five-hundred-mile marathon race known as the Long Walk, a lethal contest of determination and endurance in which each tortured step becomes a harrowing struggle for survival, in order to win fame and fortune. Reissue.

The Long Walk

In this #1 national bestseller, “master storyteller” (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives. In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you’re out—permanently. With an introduction by Stephen King on “The Importance of Being Bachman.”

Read this after the movie and audiobook. Great concept, kind of the Hunger Games before the Hunger Games. 

The actual plot was perfectly dystopian, and the various descents into madness were enthralling. However…someone really needs to get Stephen King into therapy. Why was this so sexual?

Nik ✨

#1 Bestseller Writing as Richard Bachman With an Introduction by the Author "The Importance of Being Bachman"

My first experience with King (outside of The Dark Tower). A darkly philosophical page turner. I loved that the subtle differences in history compared to our world are mentioned offhandedly, rather than being explained. Ultimately these details are unnecessary, serving only to create a richer universe.

Simon Crocker

In an ultraconservative America of the not-too-distant future when America has become a police state, the annual marathon is the ultimate sports competition. One hundred boys are selected each year to enter a grueling 450-mile marathon walk. The game is simple: maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out--permanently. The winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life; but a single misstep could be the last.

a novel

The long walk

Zachary Roberts

Jillian Roberts

Considering the negative reviews, I thought I'd give it a go anyway, I wanted to get it read before the film comes out. I couldn't put it down, loved it. The only downside is the lack of back story. 

Charlie Harris 

Meh not a fan of it, to long to repetitive, there isn’t much characters development even the main character..the end didn’t satisfy me but I like how we can interpret it as we want to 

Eva mores 

book kinda slowed down in the middle & wasn’t perfect, but I rly liked the concept + the idea of the long walk being a metaphor for war and the spectacle of it all. beautifully done w a lot of heart 

tanya 

Todesmarsch. Roman.

Justin Staack

tori 👻

** spoiler alert **
           3.5

So, here's the thing: I feel like i've been reading SK my entire life. I really enjoyed The Long Walk, I really did.

I know this book was published in 79 but I can't just close my eyes to the problematic writing around many topics. I was going to give it 4 stars but decided against it for this reason.

Also was that dark figure just a metaphor or was it maybe Randall Flagg?

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

"La larga marcha" de Stephen King es un impresionante relato distópico que lleva a los lectores a un viaje angustiante y emocional a través de una competencia brutal y despiadada. Publicada bajo el seudónimo de Richard Bachman, esta novela es un poderoso examen de la naturaleza humana, el poder y la resistencia.

La trama sigue a un grupo de jóvenes que participan en un evento conocido como "La larga marcha", una competencia a pie en la que los concursantes deben caminar sin parar hasta que solo quede uno en pie. El premio para el ganador es todo lo que desee para el resto de su vida, mientras que los perdedores enfrentan un destino incierto y sombrío. A lo largo de la marcha, los competidores luchan contra la fatiga, el hambre, el frío y la desesperación, mientras son observados y controlados de cerca por el gobierno.

King crea un mundo oscuro y opresivo que atrapa al lector desde el principio. Su prosa hábil y su capacidad para construir suspense mantienen la tensión en aumento a medida que la marcha avanza y los participantes enfrentan desafíos cada vez más difíciles. La narrativa está llena de momentos impactantes y giros inesperados que mantienen al lector en vilo hasta el final.

Uno de los aspectos más destacados de la novela es el desarrollo de los personajes, especialmente del protagonista, Ray Garraty. A medida que la marcha progresa, los concursantes revelan sus verdaderas personalidades y motivaciones, lo que lleva a reflexiones profundas sobre la moralidad, la amistad y la supervivencia. Garraty, en particular, es un personaje complejo cuya lucha interna y determinación lo convierten en un héroe memorable y conmovedor.

Además, "La larga marcha" aborda temas atemporales como el poder, el sacrificio y la crueldad humana. King utiliza la premisa de la competencia como una metáfora para explorar la naturaleza destructiva de la violencia y la obsesión por el poder, así como la capacidad del ser humano para resistir incluso en las circunstancias más desesperadas.

En resumen, "La larga marcha" es una obra maestra del suspense y la especulación distópica que cautiva al lector con su narrativa absorbente y su profunda exploración de la condición humana. Es una lectura emocionante y provocativa que deja una impresión duradera y sigue siendo relevante décadas después de su publicación.

Sarah Sammis

This book reminded me a great deal of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon minus the hinted at supernatural angle. The story was a quick and compelling read albeit somewhat predictable. I wish King had dropped more hints at the events that had lead to creation of the Long Walk. He gave enough detail to show that he must have had a fuller idea of his world and its backstory and I want in on that knowledge!

maitha mana

Sunny

My third attempt at a Stephen King book and I just felt like the whole thing was just "this is okay".

Nate Niederkorn

Lisa-Maria Hofmann

This was a very meditative read. Had great satirical value after one year people telling me I should go for a walk to stay sane.

felt like a waste of 11 hours, i was interested in the lore of the concept, but it was barely touched on, 11 hours of uninteresting characters being uninteresting with minimal emotional impact. makes sense that king wrote this in his bachman era, very life is awful what’s the point vibes

cedar winslow

Derek Graf

There wasn't a whole lot going on in this one. I love King, but I don't think this is his strongest work. There isn't really any worldbuilding, and there isn't a whole lot of character work going on. It's just people walking and talking a bit, but especially after coming from The Stand, it kind of didn't do a lot for me.

Stijn de Boer 

Molly

The story kept me interested. It was kind of slow but disturbing. Not at all what I expected or hoped for at the end. I felt like it was rushed and cut off early.

Baylie Madison

** spoiler alert **
           WHAT? This concept was enticing, and i will say the inner thought and development of Ray was well done, but there are just some gaps I can’t get behind. The mild suggestion of Ray’s sexuality? Stevens’ weird character arc? For such a long book I wish more of those things were fleshed our. Enough about Jan, seriously. I was interested in a few of the characters, but no tears unfortunately. McFrees is by far my favorite. Overall, not bad, but definitely not what I expected.

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted!

Before The Hunger Games, there was The Long Walk. Except this was way, way more disturbing. 

There are going to be spoilers ahead for the overarching plot, though not specifics regarding individual characters. I can’t think of any other way to review this book, so consider yourself warned.

Imagine a version of America that is completely obsessed with an annual “game” known as the Long Walk. In this new national pastime, teenage boys from all around the nation put their names into a lottery in hopes of being selected for the Walk. One hundred boys are selected each year to march in the Long Walk, and the last one walking gets the Prize, or anything his heart desires for the rest of his life. And the entire nation watches and places bets on the outcome. People adore the Long Walk, and the Walkers. Doesn’t sound that bad, right?

Well, if a Walker slows below four miles per hour, he gets a warning. If he doesn’t speed up within 30 seconds, he gets another. His third warning is his last, and if he doesn’t pick up the pace after that last warning, he “buys his ticket.” Unfortunately for the boys, that ticket is a bullet. Losing the Walk means losing your life. And there are no breaks during the walk. None. Once you start walking, you walk until you win or you die.

Do you know what the most disturbing part is? No boy goes into the Walk blind. Every single boy that signs up to join the walk knows exactly what to expect. They know that they’ll die if they lose. And yet they volunteer anyway. That’s right, every single participant is a volunteer. No one is ever forced to join the Walk.

Why on earth would anyone willingly sign up for a game that leaves 99 out of its 100 participants dead? Well, teenagers tend to believe they’re invincible, that they’ll live forever. Most of them honestly believe that they’ll win. However, many of them have an ulterior motive; for reasons beyond their conscious grasp, they want to die. This way, they either get their wish or live in the lap of luxury for the rest of their lives. 

What made this so disturbing for me was the fact that every single participant and spectator understood the rules. No one was surprised by the deaths. The spectators howling their approval from the sidelines and fighting over bloody shoes as mementos was incredibly disturbing. I felt like one of those morbid spectators, as I couldn’t tear my focus away from the Walkers; it was like watching a train wreck. However, in my opinion the most macabre element of the story was the foreknowledge of the Walkers themselves, and the fact that they chose their fate. 

This was an insanely dark story, perhaps one of the darkest I’ve ever read. King was right when he said that Bachman was his rainy day alter ego in the introduction to this book. While I still felt that the story was decidedly King in style, the tone was darker and more cynical and hopeless than we usually get from the King of horror. The Long Walk is without a doubt compelling, but its plausibility will keep you up at night.

Original review can be found at Booknest.

daisy

this might have the potential to be one of my all time favorite. left me sobbing really hard in the two last chapters, we got to see some of characters development throughout this book and some awakening also. the open ending really frustates me because i need to know the ending! but overall i really like this book, it feels like u are going with them on the walk because this book feels really long for a 300+ pages lol. the characters (especially the last three standing) is what makes this book enjoyable and page turning for me and i really do feel strongly connected to them and dont want them to die.. i just wish the ending could be a solid one


some of my favorite lines here:

“And I think . . . when I get tired enough . . . I think I’ll just sit down.”

“Well, that’s something you’ll get to find out, too. Plumb the unplumbed depths of Garraty. Sounds almost like a travel ad, doesn’t it? You burrow until you hit bedrock. Then you burrow into the bedrock. And finally you get to the bottom. And then you buy out. That’s my idea. Let’s hear yours.”

“How many you or I have outlasted doesn’t matter, I think. There comes a time when the will just runs out. Doesn’t matter what I think, see? I used to have a good time smearing away with oil paints. I wasn’t too bad, either. Then one day—bingo. I didn’t taper off, I just stopped. Bingo. There was no urge to go on even another minute. I went to bed one night liking to paint and when I woke up it was nowhere.”

“Walk a little bit longer,” Garraty said through his tears. “Walk a little longer, Art.”

Excerpt From: "The Long Walk" by Stephen King. Scribd.

petit-chocobo

This could have been a favourite if not for all the misogynistic and homophobic comments... 
A very fast read, quite hypnotic and a fascinating concept, I loved the ending. Again, could have been a 5 star but the misogyny went on and on and on, I cringed everytime a woman/girl was mentionned... I guess the homophobia is to be expected, as the protagonists are all male teens (and it's the 70s so...) but it could have been avoided, like really, that was highly unnecessary. Otherwise I really loved it!

The Long Walk

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